Hidden Possession
by IrisatinetheVain
Summary: Third story in the series. Iris and Mephiles return, but due to some new identities, lead the heroes on a goose chase for their formal selves. After silently hiding away, they realize they are not the only demons left on Mobius' Top World. Soon, a strange and powerful evil finds it's way up from the depths of the Flame Core. Can the heroes survive another blow? Can Mobius?
1. Chapter 1

(Iris' Pov)

My crystal laid there with myself and my beloved inside. Those disgusting mortals had yet again thwarted us. They need to realize that their fate will be by our hands. For right now, our physical bodies weren't going anywhere. We both lay in pieces from the one called Shadow and his chaos blast. Mephiles besides me was not too pleased about this outcome and was growling demonically. No matter, I always have a backup plan. Hopefully, he's a natural at what I'm about to ask of him.

_Mephiles... _I said telepathically. _What if I told you of a way we would get out of here?_

Sounding pessimistic as usual, he responded. _How exactly are we going to do that, Iris? Our bodies have been dismembered. I can't even shift around._

_Well... What if we don't have to move at all? What if we assume new identities?_

From the tone in his voice, I could tell he was curious.

_What did you have in mind? How am I to accomplish such a thing?_

_I'll teach you. Just give me a few minutes to lure in the hosts._

_Hosts?_

I disconnected myself from our telepathic communications to focus in on any mortal energy around. Just my luck. A group of three mortal anthros was coming our way. I prepared my illusion in a timely manner. (End.)

(A small band of anthros made up of a chipmunk, hyena, and wolf walked past. They were part of a survival group and had become the scavenger party for the night. So far, not much luck finding any food. The group had children and they were getting desperate.)

"My energy is already low as it is. Let's call it a night." The chipmunk said as she sat down on the broken concrete, fixing her friendship bracelet.

"No! There has to be something to hunt or gather. It's been three days since our last meal. We need clean water too." The wolf said as he flicked out the same cigar he had been using the past day.

Suddenly, a nice big bird flew past the hyena and distracted him. He pulled out his bow. "You two go search the forest. I'm getting that bird!"

With that, the third unwanted anthro had vanished. The two mortals traveled around the forest's edge. A slender figure caught their eyes.

"Hello?" They yelled after the figure. Apprehensive, they continued after it.

A young woman was found returning to her house. Her husband wrapped her in an tight embrace.

"Look who I found honey. More survivors! I hope they have medicine for us."

Of course, Iris' illusions are very detailed and realistic, right down to the chest rising for breathing. Someone unaware of what to look for would be very convinced these were real people. That's what had happened.

"Oh hello. How did you folks survive out here?" The wolf asked as he watched the vegetables, ripe and delicious, sway on the vines.

"Well, the devastation didn't quite reach this far. Count our blessings. When we did hear of the news, we hid away in our basement."

"You wouldn't happen to have surplus food would you?" The chipmunk asked, not trying to sound too grateful, but her stomach gave her away.

"You poor people. Your starving aren't you? Of course we have extra. I have some downstairs in the pantry. Can you both come help me with it?" The woman asked as she hung up her apron. "Then you can both stay for supper."

Instinct triumphed over rational thought. They nodded, in a trance from the wonderful smells floating in the kitchen. They more they helped her, the more they might get to bring back. They walked down the dusty steps into the stocked up pantry. Canned foods lined against the walls and even bottled water. They had been sent to heaven.

"Your such a god send." The chipmunk said as she started to pack her bag. "Thank you."

The woman chuckled. "I wouldn't call myself that."

They became curious until they were suddenly pinned against a wall.

_Such fragile vessels. Are they even worth being hosts? _A dark mass, Mephiles' soul, asked as he slunk closer to the wolf.

_Remember, they are all quite weak. Their minds even more so. You'll have no problem showing them who the master, and the puppet is. _Iris' red soul said as she wrapped her essence around the chipmunks body.

They both became absorbed by the anthros' bodies. Slowly, they used the mortals minds against them and had fully captured their minds. They both stretched out their new arms and wiggled their fingers.

"Ahh.. I missed being able to walk about." Mephiles said as he picked up his tail and examined it.

Iris was infront of the mirror combing her hair. "I hate having no bangs."

Mephiles grabbed her from behind and gave her a big hug. "Did I do good?" He asked sarcastically.

"Yes very good. Umm.." Iris stopped as she pointed to the hyena outside, looking at them in disbelief.

Mephiles saw him as well before he ran away. "Time to hunt?"

"Better believe it."


	2. Chapter 2: Adjustions

"What the hell did I just witness?" The hyena questioned himself as he ran back into the road panting. "I need to get back quickly."

Mephiles and Iris struggled watching where they were going in the dark. Mephiles tripped over Iris as Iris tripped over roots. Only the moon helped them to see. Mephiles picked up a leaf that fell on his head.

"I can't see anything. How long will we have to be like this?" He asked as he felt along a tree.

"As long as our bodies are useless to us. You kind of rub off that you don't like to wait." Iris responded as she grabbed his hand. "Stick close."

"I hate waiting." Mephiles mumbled to himself as he watched the night clouds roll past. "It is a beautiful night."

"Too bad our vision is impaired."

They just made out a shadow running on the road. The hyena turned back and saw two figures behind him. He continued to run until a covered wagon holding survivors hit him. It stopped suddenly and jerked forwards. Two guys ran out and examined the person. The hyena tried to talk but he wouldn't survive to tell the tale. Mephiles watched the hyena as he let a cold smile play on his lips. Iris looked at the horse that was pulling the wagon.

"You wanted a kill right?" She whispered in his ear. "Here it is."

For a split second Iris let her eyes glow silver as the horse reared up and whined. The humans tried to settle it down but it ended the hyena's life with a swift kick to the head. Blood pooled around his body.

"Mmm..thanks." Mephiles whispered back.

The humans watched as they approached the wagon.

"You must be survivors too huh? Out hunting?" One asked as he put down the foot hold so they could hop in the back with the others.

"Yes. But we weren't hunting. A creature chased us and we had to run into the forest. Problem was that we got lost. Saw the street lights and came over here." Mephiles said as he spun his tale of deceit. "My wife and I are glad you came."

Iris nodded her head and sat next to an elderly woman who looked like she had been very distraught. All adults were on this wagon, most very old but some around middle age. Mephiles and Iris watched as the wagon rode away after the corpse had been buried. One of Mephiles' creatures came out of the forest and dragged the body in.

_Looks like your creature will eat well tonight. These people are almost tempting me to kill them right now. _Iris said telepathically, eyeing up the tremendous auras the mortals shed.

_They clean up the scraps. Do you want to kill them? We can just make them disappear. _

Iris wondered if she should, then decided against it. _Let's only kill those who are alone and who may be on our case about our true identity. _

"Where are we headed to?" Mephiles asked aloud to the driver who had the radio on.

"Going to Golden City. The heroes have a close watch over it and it's the safest place right now. These monsters running amok are causing trouble."

Mephiles smiled inwardly. "Yes the mighty heroes of Mobius will keep us safe."

"Sonic is the best isn't he? He's saved us so many times. Such a sweet heart." The old lady across from Iris said as she dazed off into her memories.

Iris and Mephiles zoned off whenever the mortals had their story times. Such boring lives they had. It would be a blessing if these people toppled over dead right now. Of course, who are they to ask for blessings?

The night transitioned to day as the bright lights of Golden City came into view. Other wagons filled with more anthros and humans were lined up, waiting to have their cargo unloaded. The two demons in sheep's clothing waited until their wagon was up next. They held onto each other's hands as the bright light shone into their pupils. Mephiles shaded his eyes with his hand as Iris fanned herself with some papers.

"I thought we killed most of the people on Mobius. How are there so many?" Iris asked as they cooled off in a dark alleyway.

Mephiles gestured to the ground. "Some probably hid in the sewers or trash dumps. Ironic isn't it? Trash..."

"Hm? I suppose. We are in enemy territory and the authorities are on their toes. Where can we hide?"

"Somewhere daylight cannot reach that's for sure." Mephiles said as he looked at a sewer grate. "It's as close to a cave as we're going to get."

Iris nodded as they slowly pried the lid off the sewer hole, hopping into the green water and continuing forwards. Rats scurried overhead as pieces of litter floated downstream. They climbed a latter onto a metal platform. An open area that looked like someone else had lived there years before was what they had found. An old mattress, lamp, and magazines awaited for them.

"Well, ladies first." Mephiles said as he pulled back the tattered cover for Iris as she lay on her side of the bed.

"Such a gentleman." Iris responded as Mephiles settled in besides her. "Good night Mephy."

"Good night." Mephiles said as he closed his eyes. Now all they had to do was wait till nighttime came back.

A group of squatters watched them sleep together. These people had been the survivor group which their hosts had belonged to. Would they have some stories to make up.


	3. Chapter 3: Mortal Life

Nightfall came and the two demons awoke from their first true sleep in days. Mephiles got up first and held his head. The fur on his ears and arms was somewhat matted. He also had the worst headache and the sewer waters weren't helping. He watched as a group of rats ran past on a metal grate. He walked slowly back and forth as more waste drained into the area. Iris moaned as she sat up on the old mattress, dusting dirt off her fur. She stood up and held her stomach as it made a noise.

"What's wrong with your stomach?" Mephiles asked as his started to do the same.

"It's called hunger. It means the hosts need food." She replied as she wondered what they were going to do food wise.

Any cans down here had been cleaned out by the previous inhabitant. Others had food particles clung to them as flies gathered inside. The group that had been watching them sleep came out of the shadows. Humans and anthros worked together to pull each other out of the grime.

"I don't know why you guys didn't come back to base. You would have been more comfortable there." Replied one human as he fixed his burlap sack over his shoulder. "What happened to your supplies?"

The two demon's looked at each other unblinkingly. Had these people not heard them earlier? They hoped not otherwise they'd have a lot of explaining to do. They really didn't need this right now.

"Um..we dropped our stuff. We were chased." Mephiles stated as one of the group members tapped his shoulder. He let out the lowest growl.

The guy looked at him surprised and slightly backed off. "One of those days huh Jake?"

Mephiles crossed his arms over his chest. "You could say that."

To both their shock, one of the guys that approached Iris wrapped his arms around her. She wasn't sure how to react.

"Excuse me...?" She stated more than asked as the young squirrel gave a concerned look.

"What's wrong Jade? Did I hurt you? Do you gave an injury somewhere?" He asked in an uncertain tone.

Iris shook her head. "I'm okay. Just..just shaken from last night."

The squirrel tried to console her even though Iris was blatantly lying.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do anything sudden." He apologized as he looked to Mephiles. "You two look like you have been through hell and back."

"Tell me about it." Mephiles said as he stood besides Iris again. "So are we going to the base then?"

The group huddled together as they shuffled along the concrete basin. They were following a pipe they had painted red that led them to the base where a few others held up as well. They had to keep shaking the flashlights so they wouldn't go out. It felt weird talking to the mortals as if they belonged. As if they were trusted.

"Not much longer." An opossum said as he felt along the wall for the door handle.

The group waded behind him in waist deep sewage. When they heard the click of the door handle, home was in sights. A base the size of a football field had shabby little huts made of tin and cardboard. The sewer lighting was enough that the group could reserve the fuel for the portable cookers someone had fixed up from the trash. Finally, the storage corner of the room where all food was stored in crates or sacks. Mephiles and Iris walked forwards cautiously as they wandered around the home-made town.

"Which one is ours?" Iris asked as she peeked inside the huts.

Mephiles sat down at a lit campfire and picked up a handful of embers and watched as they blew away. Then he shook his hand from the intense heat.

_The second half of Solaris, yet I can't even touch fire._

He watched as Iris sat on a hut's step and closed her eyes.

_Her memories should give me what I need._ _I need to make them more accessible somehow._

Iris concentrated and called forth the girl's soul as she searched her essence.

_Flashes of that young squirrel again. Okay he's her best friend. Gave her a scrap book, don't care, don't care... My hut is the one with a weather vane on top. Mephiles hut is besides mine. Red. Thanks. _

She said coldly as she pushed the mortal's spirit back into its recesses.

"Hey...Jake."

Mephiles got up and came over. He shoved the rest of the canned food down his belly. "Yes?"

"You live in the red hut next to mine. Mine has a weather vane on it for some reason."

"Okay?"

"That's all. How are you adjusting in your body?"

Mephiles looked at his hands and touched his mouth. "It feels strange. It's like I'm not who I was before. Some of these things that I know aren't mine to know."

Iris watched as he played with the hem of his pants. He really looked like a five year old child, no knowing what to expect next. Yet he still held his signature, sinister composure that told others they dare not question him. She got behind him and rubbed up his neck.

"You do look troubled. Is something bothering you as of late?"

Mephiles just sighed as he stared at the ground. Should he even bother her with this?

"The feeling of unease lessens over time. Why don't we check out our homes? Don't want to look surprised to the others that we live there, right?"

He didn't even need to say anything as she took his hand and led him on. What a facade she put on. with so many mortals around he knew this wasn't going to be easy.


	4. Chapter 4: Fresh Blood

Iris lay on her bed and wondered how exactly they were to escape the group, before they learned the ugly truth. Her and Mephiles were talking telepathically about which plans were feasible, and which were not. They had decided to stay for now, but pick off the mortals one by one. Making sure they had the perfect situation to make it an "accident." She turned to her side. The other ladies with whom she shared her tent with came back to their respective places. A teenage girl came up to her and sat on her bed.

"Hey Jade, you awake?" The dragonfly whispered, shaking her shoulder.

"I'm awake. Yes...? Uh..."

The girl's bright eyes caught hers as she smiled. The young girl placed a glittery rock besides Iris' pillow.

"What's this?" Iris questioned as she held the rock with her fingers, pretended she still had claws.

"I know how you like to collect unique stones and such, so I found this along the river. Hey tomorrow we should forage together."

Iris moaned inwardly. She didn't want to help the mortals find food. Although perhaps, this was a good time to begin the many murders that were to come. She smiled.

"Of course. I'd love to...Catherine."

Catherine's smile became even bigger. "Okay! Well, you've had a long day today so I'll leave you be."

With that, the mortal flew off with another insect and was gone. Iris felt her back where her wings used to be.

"I'm going to hate being stuck on the ground."

Mephiles wasn't having a fun time either. The only person he's ever shared his living quarters with was Iris, but she wasn't even there. He was stuck with mortal males and he was having a hard time controlling his dark urges. He knew he would have to put up with it. He used his tail to cover his eyes. He moaned as someone next to him burped.

"No manners in the least." He mumbled as he turned to face the wall.

The rest of the guys sat around in old folding chairs drinking from a half filled vodka bottle. Apparently, Mephiles' host was an avid drinker. His mortal buddies became concerned when he didn't say anything.

"Jake what's the matter with you? Why so quiet?" One of them asked as he came over half intoxicated. "Your usually the first at the liquor bottle."

"I'm not in the mood to be drunk off my ass." Mephiles replied as he buried himself into the covers. He needs a space alone to think.

"I know what's going on with you and Jade. Although I thought you liked Lizzy more than her." Said a human as he came over as well. "Playing hard to get?"

Mephiles tried so hard not to growl. Instead he turned around and stared them both in the eyes. They both backed off, seeing as though they might have hit a nerve, and sat back down with the others. Mephiles sighed and continued talking telepathically with Iris.

_(The next day)_

As promised, Iris and Catherine went scouting for food and anything else the group had needed. Catherine kept talking as Iris mental blocked her. She just wanted to get some fresh blood flowing. Since her and her 'best friend' were alone, she decided to end the girl's life today. Luckily, one of Iris' beasts had survived in the forests and was perched atop the bridge. The grotesque thing sniffed the ground as Catherine pulled Iris aside.

"Let's not go that way. The beast looks hungry." The dragonfly said as she hid with Iris behind some bushes.

"It does, doesn't it?" Iris questioned as she looked at it.

The creature knew they were there. It turned around and knew what it had to do. It knew who it's master was, and who the prey would be. It hissed as it rose into the sky and came over with talons sharp. The dragonfly flew away quickly but the beast was in hot pursuit. Catherine realized she left Jade behind and snuck around the creature as it searched elsewhere.

Catherine stumbled over a rock and the beast heard her again. Her heart pounded wildly as the beast tore into her back, shredding her wings and exposing her raw hide. The awful thing let out a loud screech as it dug it's teeth into the bloody flesh, eating its first meal in weeks. Iris came out of the foliage as the beast, blood stained mouth and all, cuddled beside her.

"Very good my pet. Stay around and there may be more meals for you yet." Iris said as the winged creature took off back to its nest.

Iris scoffed at the remains of the girl and simply walked away.

"Goodbye, friend."


	5. Chapter 5: Tales of Deceit

The whole camp watched as Iris came back silently and threw what were her 'friends' belongings into her hut. The people looked at her questioningly.

"Where's Christine?" Asked one child in particular, playing with her only toy doll.

Iris pretended to be upset and ran to her hut with her hands over her eyes. The squirrel noticed and ran after her, with a following of some of the others. He knocked on the flimsy door.

"Jade what happened? Where's Christine?" He asked through the door crack. No response. Then...

"She's gone."

The group members looked at each other and knew that Christine would not make it back.

"Go in Francis, you're her other closest friend."

The squirrel came inside and saw Iris sitting sadly on her bed. The mortal wrapped his arms around her shoulders and Iris hugged back.

"It was horrible. Another beast attack. I couldn't save her." She said as she stared into his eyes. "All my comrades are dying."

Francis stayed with Iris comforting for an hour until he thought that she had calmed down enough to talk.

"Start from the beginning?" He asked as Iris took a deep breath.

"As you know, we were out foraging and fishing. We headed over to the concrete bridge and saw a beast lurking around it. We hid in some bushes but it looked straight at us. It pulled Christine out of the bushes...and..."

"Shh." He said as he held her hand. "You don't need to say the rest."

"There was so much carnage...blood...oh god." Iris said as she forced a single tear out of her eye. "I don't want to go back out there."

"I'll be right back okay? I need to tell the others about this."

With that the squirrel came back out and explained what happened to the group.

"Never have the beasts attacked twice in a week. Something must be driving them out of the forest." Said one human as another anthro chimed in.

"Perhaps there losing their food source, and were on the menu now!"

They were all terrified that this could happen to any one of them. Mephiles was contemplating how exactly he should plan out his kills. After today's incident, he was sure everyone would be on top guard. He would have to theoretically, hide in the darkness. Find his own opportune chance. She had one tick on the score board already. Mephiles came into the hut and sat beside her.

"Were you not planning on sharing this with me? I thought we were supposed to do this together." Mephiles said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Now how am I going to get kills?"

Iris shifted her gaze to him with a neutral expression. She didn't say anything at first and just let Mephiles wonder what she was thinking. Then she spoke.

"You're smart. You'll think of something you can do. Besides, it was a great setup. She didn't even know what was coming."

He returned the same stare and silence that she had given him and walked out.

"I don't know why you're being like this, Mephiles. Why is what I do on my own a bother to you?"

Mephiles stopped and turned around, giving a cold glance at her.

She did the same and raised her eyebrow.

"I'm my own person too you know."

Feeling confused about what he felt, he turned to face the door again. After all these years, he still wasn't sure how he could express himself without anger. Even thinking about it made him upset. He stopped himself while he was ahead and traveled around the little town. He watched as the mortals played nice with one another and quickly looked away.

Iris had known something was wrong and decided if he really wanted to hunt with her, she would make it so. Sometimes he was as impatient as her herself, and just that at times made things stressful. But after a decade or so of being allies, friends, and a couple, it came with the relationship. Even they cannot escape such trivial complications. She would talk with him later. As of now, she felt she needed to plan something similar to a massacre to make him feel happy. She also wondered if the heroes knew of their third coming.


	6. Chapter 6: It Begins

Sonic, Shadow, and Tails were to meet the mayor of Golden City in the town hall today. He wanted the heroes' personal opinions on which buildings should be rebuilt and which ones shouldn't. He only had a limited amount of money to spend and needed to spend it wisely. Tails suggested they should rebuild the factories and science labs, Sonic wanted his favorite restaurant rebuilt, and Shadow just wanted his bar back. The mayor nodded as he wrote down the requests and talked it over with his council. The three boys walked down the marble steps and looked at the half demolished, half rebuilt city. They wondered if they had enough time to turn their city back to the way it was. An oppressive and dark feeling still hung over their heads. They knew that soon they would have to fight again. But what if they struck back first?

"Sonic..." Shadow began as he watched the rainy sky streak with lightning. "We really should have some soldiers guarding the spot where Mephiles and Iris fell. We cannot handle another attack right now."

Sonic stopped as he looked at Shadow who was deep in his own thoughts. "We could do that. They wouldn't come back that fast though, would they? Not after what you did to them."

"I wouldn't put it past them. We have yet to hear or see of them but it is a cautionary measure we must take."

"Then this would be a good time to use my energy dome." Tails said as he pulled out a glowing blue cube. "I had been working on it ever since they had sealed themselves away in that crystal. It drains energy from all life forces, rendering them weak and unable to much. I can use it so they'll never escape."

"Good idea Tails. If it will make you feel better Shadow, we can protect the area with the cities soldiers." Sonic said as he stopped dead when he saw Amy run over. "Oh snap, see you guys later!"

With that, Sonic ran away in a blue flash. Shadow and Tails proceeded to do what must be done.

_(Within the sewers)_

The group cringed in fear as Mephiles and Iris told horrid stories of what they had seen on their travels. Using hand gestures and an eerie tone of voice, they put even more terrible lies into the mortals hearts. The group was terrified of what existed just past the city.

"How did you survive these monsters?" One of the mortals asked as he hugged his knees to his chest.

"We hid, what else?" Mephiles said as he sat back down and stared into the fire. These mortals were easily entertained and very persuasive.

"Oh, and I also discovered a site where a purple crystal is. It seems to have properties that protect the area from the beasts." Iris was pushing it here, but maybe they would unintentionally help them recover her crystal. With their bodies preserved inside.

The group was quiet as Mephiles kept his eyes wide open. Iris explained onwards.

"Well, you all remember yesterday when Christine got attacked right?"

They nodded.

"I found a small clearing in the forest that no animals traveled into. I wondered why and took a closer look. Suddenly, the ground shook and the top of a crystal popped out. That crystal is what we need to protect ourselves from those monsters!"

The group laughed as they heard this silly nonsense.

"Yeah good story but that is unreal. A purple crystal..."

"I guess I'll have to show you then." Iris said as she pulled out a shard of her crystal.

They all gasped in surprise when they saw that what Iris had told them was real.

"No way.." Her squirrel friend said as he came over and took the piece. "It really works?"

Iris nodded and watched in amusement as they held it one by one. Mephiles knew the time to recover their bodies had come and honestly, he couldn't have been more grateful. It would be awhile before they could inhabit them again, but he just wanted to see his physical form untouched.

"We should head out shouldn't we? While daylight still lasts." Mephiles asked as the whole group followed the two demons unquestioningly.

They really were some of the dumbest, most desperate mortals they had ever seen. Iris easily persuaded them with her powers. The group continued down the sewer tunnels that led out of the city and back into the forest. This was the last trip the mortals would ever take. They followed under the influence of a demonic aura, watching as their past lives vanished into the darkness ahead. The two demons' eyes faintly gleamed with dark anticipation.


	7. Chapter 7: Orchestrated Death

The mortal group, half terrified and half amazed, walked calmly into forest clearing. One half of them felt weak and vulnerable, while the others felt quite bold. The clearing had such a negative effect on the surroundings. The trees that lined the crystals demonic aura were withered and bare. The normally chattering flickies were quiet, hiding in their homes. Beasts had flocked here in the dozens, the remaining minions of the two demons watching guard over their slumbering masters, wishing for them to awake.

Mephiles commanded the group to pull up the crystal at once. For an unknown reason, they felt compelled to obey. The mortal humans and anthros tugged at the roped hooks they threw around the crystal and pulled. The ground shook again as bit by bit, the crystal popped up. The mortals were entranced by the many voices that spoke to them and stood there, waiting for orders. Mephiles sighed as he placed his hand over where his true self was.

"That makes me feel much better." He said to himself as he peered into his heads' serpentine eyes. "Is there a way to shroud our bodies from other's views?"

"If you want to cloak the crystal then yes. Stand on the other side and I'll lead in the incantation." Iris said as she stood on the side with her severed body.

Mephiles chanted along with her, strengthening the spell as the crystal faded into air. The spell on the mortals began to wear off.

"Hey.. where's the crystal?" Someone said as they looked at each other. Then they looked at Jade and Jake, who didn't seem quite like themselves now.

They scattered in panic when they realized their friends weren't who they thought they were. Mephiles used his claws to tear into one person, letting his internal organs burst out as they screamed and flailed. The others found out they had been trapped inside the clearing and ran around its border trying to find a way out. Iris had lost her claws and sharp teeth due to her host having no natural weapons. Instead, she beckoned her flying beasts to enter the circle and rip the rest to shreds. She also imagined traps on the ground and in-between trees to slow her prey down as she used her single dagger to entertain herself. Over and over again she stabbed the fallen mortals until their faces were unrecognizable. You could see the blood and hear the screams in the young night, as the silent moon looked coldly below. When the screams finally faded, the whole area was stained red. The dark duo, satisfied in fulfilling their blood lust, watched the scene before them. Mephiles came over to her with blood on his claws.

"Finally.. I've been wanting to do that for awhile. Too bad I couldn't absorb the chaos." He said as he kicked a body to the side.

"Well at least you got your much needed release." Iris said as she wiped the blade off on a dead person's shirt. "I was wondering how long you could last."

"It's no mystery what went on here. I'm not even going to bother to conceal it." He said as the twenty or so cadavers lay in blood soaked grass. "Whoever smells it in a couple of days will find a grisly surprise."

Iris wrapped her arms around him and jumped onto his back. "Why don't you say we get out of here? Find a small apartment where just the two of us can be. Away from any other pests in our personal space."

Mephiles held onto her legs as he ran back into the sewers. They didn't care that they had several people's blood on them. Iris held onto Mephiles as he ran down the tunnels and back to the now deserted camp. They took what they needed and got out as soon as possible. Before actually checking into a hotel for the night, they made sure that they changed clothes and showered. The old clothes were burned in the sewer camp's fires. The two demons wondered the streets arm in arm. Since the survivor group had some cash in the lock box, they used it to pay for the finest suite for the night.

"Mephiles was that really necessary?" Iris asked as they walked away from the receptionist who was flipping through the money happily.

"I was tired of sleeping in a stinking sewer. Besides, we actually get a comfortable living quarters for the time being." He said as he used the key to click open the door.

Inside was a soft king size bed, a bathroom, a small kitchen area, a flat screen, and a comfortable fireplace. Even though they did take a shower before entering the city, it wasn't with soap. They both hopped into the shower and let the place steam up with the hot water. Afterwards, they cuddled by the fireplace while watching television playing checkers. Finally, they lay down in the bed kissing and doing some other things until the television flashed an emergency update. They both paid attention as the camera zoomed in on Shadow and Tails, who were keeping civilians out of the crime scene.

"That was quick." Iris said as she sat up with the covers pulled around herself. "Why were they going there now?"

The tv answered her question.

"We were going to secure the area until we found out it was too late. They escaped again and caused yet more pain and anguish, like before. We will find Mephiles and Iris and put a stop to them permanently." Shadow answered as he waved away the newsperson and got back into the scene with the GUN forces.

Mephiles clicked the television off.

"Well didn't that spoil the mood." Mephiles said as he sat up against the head board.

"This can work out for us. Remember, were not in our bodies. They think we escaped. Well, that's kind of true, but not completely." Iris said, still knowing they were in the clear.

"Right. They'll be looking for us in our original bodies. We can also switch to new bodies just in case, right?" He asked as Iris nodded. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Iris lay besides him as the two made even more plans for themselves. Of course being "mortals" who were about to rent a place monthly, they needed jobs. They would have to worry about the dumbest, yet most powerful form of currency in the top world. The workforce calls.


	8. Chapter 8: The Working Class

**A more lighthearted chapter :)**

The next day they had realized the city's security forces had tripled in size. There were even soldiers from other towns, who the mayor probably recruited. Mephiles watched as an armored truck went past the hotel. He quickly closed the blinds, shading the room from the intense light. Iris was making sure she had all the bags.

"What's going on out there?" She asked as Mephiles shook his head and looked at her.

"So many people on the man hunt. Is this a good idea? Can't we just go back into the sewers? It's dark there, more safe than here."

"Mephy as long as you play it cool, there's nothing to worry about. We will rent the first apartment we come across okay? Then we can get back into our nocturnal sleeping patterns and no one will bother us."

Mephiles paced across the carpet as he rubbed his hands together worryingly.

"We need to go." Iris mouthed to him as she opened the room door. "I'll see you at check out."

With that, she shut the door softly behind her. Mephiles made sure the room was as tidy as could be and looked to the door.

_I should stop acting so suspicious._

_Hnng.._

_I hate this._

He left the room and held his head up high. He told himself that if he didn't talk or touch anyone, he would be fine. Iris was by the rotating doors with the sacks slung to her back, she looked at Mephiles as he came down the stairs. He really hated this didn't he? She watched as he became flustered with his belt buckle that came undone yet again. He finally fixed up his pants and looked straight at her. A light smile appeared on her mouth as he cussed under his breath. They left the building and went past a local park. The children were flying kites with their parents as a concert could be heard in the back ground. Quickly reaching the other side of the street, they came upon an apartment complex. It wasn't the... best looking. Oh well. They did destroy half the world while they were in their original bodies. This or something worse.

They came inside the dingy building as Mephiles lightly touched the bell. The ding echoed through the halls as a man in his seventies with thinning fur came out from the back room.

"I'm guessing you want to rent a place here huh? Well, I do have one room left."

"We will take it." Mephiles said as soon as the guy shuffled to the back for paperwork.

"You sure? It's a fixer upper."

"I don't care. We will take it." He said again as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"You sure?" Iris asked as she stepped onto a loose floor board.

"You said the first apartment we find. This is it."

The old anthro ushered them to the back room where he had been. The table had the necessary paperwork laying on it, ready to be filled out.

"Alright just sign on the lines you need to... Initials there... done. It's all yours."

The two demons went up to the very top floor. The door at the end of the hall way clicked open as they turned around. Standing in the door way to their newest home. It was an okay size but it **smelled. **Mephiles covered his nose.

"Although I used to smell like death, I do not like the smell of it anywhere else."

Iris put her sleeve to her nose as she opened the window. A breath of fresh air came rushing in.

"Oh please clear it out air." She said as she watched the wind blow the leaves across the wind. She sighed and looked sadly into the clouds. "Again another day."

Mephiles watched as she looked dreamily out the window. He knew he wasn't the only one who missed their formal self. She couldn't fly anymore and that probably made her feel restricted. He picked up a folded newspaper hidden underneath the carpet.

"Someone was obviously looking for jobs. This whole newspaper consists of job articles." He said as he carefully unfolded the dusty paper, reading the listings. "Hey there's an opening for a night watchman at a local storage facility. There's also an opening for a janitor at a museum. Low grade jobs but better than nothing."

"You couldn't handle being the same room with mortals for five minutes. I hate them too but you always seem to want to snap necks. Are you sure you want a job?"

Mephiles looked at Iris with intense, serious eyes. "I won't misbehave."

"If you really want to."

With that we finally settled into the apartment. A few hours later I went to my interview. With a little help from a chant a performed earlier, I had gotten the job. I was to start tonight at seven, just when the sun would set. I agreed and waited till Mephiles came home from his interview as well. He came in with a sly smile on his face.

"Well I did it." He said as he messed around with his blue tie.

"Where did you get a suit?" Iris asked as she looked him up and down. She had to admit, he was a classy sonuvabitch.

"Saw it in a men's store. You like?"

"Mmm yes.." She said as she pulled on his collar. "Tell me all about it."


	9. Chapter 9: First Job

"Well.." He began as he unbuttoned his shirts' first few buttons. "I went straight to the office and met up with the CEO himself. He was instantly impressed with me and asked for my resume. I told him it was my first time working in an office and that I would prefer night shift. He said he would be more than happy to give the position to me."

"It's that natural charisma you have." Iris said as she poked his arm playfully.

Mephiles chuckled. "Sure, charisma. Actually, I quite like that." He said as he sighed inwardly to himself.

"Hey you made it through the day, congrats. Say what..." She said as she pulled out a bottle of wine. His ears instantly picked up. "Since this is a momentous milestone in our mortal lives.."

"Where did that come from?" He asked as he watched her pop the cork.

"I picked some stuff up for the fridge. They had whole shelves stocked with the stuff. It probably isn't that high quality, but hey." She said as she swirled the liquid around. "Just don't get drunk okay."

"Ah yes that's a thing that can happen now, can't it?" He asked rhetorically as he tipped it forwards slightly, drinking the contents slowly. Then he gave it to Iris who did the same.

"Sorry I don't know how to cook. But there's enough frozen dinners in there to last awhile." She said as he put one into the microwave.

"I don't care. Hell, as long as I don't starve I don't care." He said as he sat back down on the couch.

They eat the frozen dinners and polished off half of the wine. After all, they did have to work tomorrow night. While the remainder of the day wore down, Mephiles became more active. He cleaned quietly as his wife slept in the bedroom. It was a half hour before she was to go in. Mephiles shook her shoulder gently. Her ear flickered.

"What..?" She asked as a small growl left her lips.

"Hey you gotta go in." He said climbing on top of her and kissing her neck.

She giggled from the sudden action and left out of the bed. She got ready to start her first night. She didn't have to walk far, it was just a few blocks away. The guard on the last shift stood outside the gates and gave her the run down.

_Learning on the fly huh? Whatever._ She thought as the small security room lit up with the flashes from the monitors. Yes, she had lied and made a false document to get this job, but money ruled the world. The guy left her with the security room key and took off in his police car. Oh... this was a good position to be in indeed. As a policewoman, no one would question her authority. Then she realized that Mephiles could also possibly hold a position of power, if he played his cards right.

"Wow did we subconsciously plan this out or what?" She asked herself, looking at her Mobius' police uniform.

She wandered around the units listening to her mp3 player until she sensed that someone else was around. She took out her flashlight and pointed it towards the back fence. The trespasser was caught red handed.

"Hey you. What do you think you're doing?" She asked the teenager as he ran across the street. He shouldn't have done that.

Making sure nobody was around, she let her eyes glow silver as she ran up to the mortal. Holding him around his neck, she ran to the dimly lit parts of the storage. She knocked him unconscious and made quick work of him. Her night stick did a fine job of ending him. Before a drop of blood hit the pavement, she threw him into the ditch she had dug over the fence. Covering it over, the whole act took only a minute. Her eyes returned to their normal state.

"That's better. I like quiet nights."

The rest of the night passed without incident and when her relief came, she tossed him the keys. She made sure the camera in the area where she did the murder was turned the other way the whole time, with audio turned off, just in case. She slinked groggily back up to her apartment and fell onto the bed where Mephiles was happily growling away. He opened his eye slightly as he wrapped his arm around her.

"How'd your day go?"

"Shh." She said as she tapped his nose. "I'll talk to you in your dreams."

She told him about the night and what she had done. He was angry at first, but calmed down after she reassured him that not a soul was in sight during the crime committed. He had learned to trust her instincts and didn't question them much anymore. Same as how she felt about his own actions.

They still needed to remind each other that they were both strong, independent demons. That was a huge issue earlier when they had been allies. A few fights had not been so... mild as they were now.

He remember the day he almost crushed her spine to dust...

He also remembered the day that she had poisoned him with a heavily concentrated bottle of arsenic...

Yeah...

Fun times...

He shivered in his sleep as he pushed away those awful memories. They were both still hard headed, but so far that hasn't killed them. Ah, he needed to focus on something else. He focused on the good times that never became.

Him as Solaris, a feared and cherished sun god. Iris next to him, holding him close as his goddess. Iris dreamed along beside him. His wife dreamed that she was the Flame Core's queen, free from the curse of insanity that clouded her own mother's mind. He hoped her dream would come true, because his couldn't.


	10. Chapter 10: Arrion the Lustful

**_Action packed goodness at last!_**

Because this was such a huge issue and the demons whereabouts were unknown, all the heroes worked together in a combined effort to search. Of course, Shadow decided he was going to separate from the group and once again be a lone anti-hero. Out of them all, he was the only one who planned to kill them once they were found. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and even Rouge were all working as a team. Espio, Vector, and Charmy acted like informers. It had been two weeks since they last knew that the demons escaped. Nothing had happened, but it was a deadly waiting game. The city kept up its security forces as they continuously searched every home, business, and sewer tunnel one by one. Although something else happened that was unexpected one day...

Sonic was running through the streets when suddenly, police sirens went off and zoomed down the street. Wondering if they had found the two, he called up the others and was prepared for a fight. The heroes all met outside of a strip club and were all wondering why of all places here?

"A strip club Sonic?" Espio asked, getting his ninja stars ready for the fight.

"Hey maybe they like fun too." Vector said as he slipped some money back into his pockets.

"Really Vector?" Espio asked as he saw the cash popping out of his pockets.

"Really what, Espio?"

Espio shook his head and watched as Charmy hid behind him, still unsure about why he was needed here. Shadow was seen standing on top of the building waiting to unleash hell. October and Winter could be seen in the background as they sleepily looked at the building where their parents are supposed to be in. Then they heard an unfamiliar man's voice inside yelling.

**"What kind of place are you running here?! I can't touch the women...! What bullshit!"**

They looked at each other. Who was this? Certainly not Mephiles...

Screams were heard inside as blood splattered across the windows. The heroes ran inside to find something none of them expected. A portal, assumingly from the Flame Core, was open in the middle of the strip club. The women were huddled into corners, ducking away from the flying body parts of the club's security guards.

A faded pink-crystal porcupine stood with his back to the heroes, shaking the club owner fiercely.

**"You think you can treat a prince, nay, the **_**eldest**_** prince like this? I'm a VIP and I get this shit!"**

"Please sir! I beg of you let me go!" The owner said as suddenly, a long razor like chain slashed into him.

"You don't get a second chance." The angered porcupine said as he dropped the man to the floor. He turned around slowly when he felt that he was no longer alone. He wore a ruffled almost Victorian like garb. His hot pink, serpentine eyes met with Sonics. "Oh, hello.."

The group took a collective step back. Another demon..? This was getting out of hand.

"Who might you be?" Sonic and Shadow said together.

"Me? Oh right you mortals have no clue." He said as his mouthless muzzle moved up and down. "My name is Arrion. Arrion the Lustful. Who are you delicious morsels?"

"Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog." Sonic said as he curled his hand into a fist.

"Actually, I'm Shadow the Ultimate Life form." Shadow corrected Sonic as he shot him a look.

"Oh your something all right.." Arrion dragged on as he looked the boys up and down. "Why don't you give me a back view?"

They were petrified. He was... hitting on them?

"No. Why don't you go back to hell." Shadow replied with spite.

Arrion tsked.

"Why don't you join me? I do need new play things."

Shadow turned red as he was ready to use a chaos blast. He was stopped suddenly when the razor chain was whipped around his neck.

"Oh yes do fight. It makes me so..." Arrion continued as he whispered into Shadow's ear what he felt.

Shadow was repulsed by this dirty talking creature. Arrion jumped out of the building, away from the heroes as soon as he licked Shadow's neck. Shadow relentlessly threw chaos spears in the air where Arrion had just been. He growled darkly as he cussed every word in the book. The heroes were left speechless.

_(At the apartment)_

Mephiles roughly tugged on Iris' arm.

"Hey, get your ass up and look at this." He said as he picked her up and threw her on the couch.

"What the fuck, Mephiles.." She went on as she rubbed her eyes in anger. Then grew wide eyed as she stared at the TV. "Wait... seriously what?"

It showed the pink demon from earlier that was angrily yelling and throwing people around.

**"I'm the eldest prince! How dare you treat me with disrespect, mortal!" **The words escaped the demon's mouth as if he was entitled to every one of the ladies before him.

Iris stared at the tv in disbelief. "No.. they escaped..? But.. the portal was guarded by mother herself.."

"I'm guessing you know him them." Mephiles said as he stared at the demon in more anger than awe.

"I know him alright." Iris sighed. "He's my brother. One of six, to be exact."


	11. Chapter 11: Ferris the Gluttonous

Iris had wished Arrion was the only one to appear in the Top World. She was wrong. The very next day Mephiles woke her up again.

"Really Mephiles? This may happen five more times so..." She went on as she watched another one of her brothers in a restaurant, eating everything.

"Six brothers right?" He asked aloud as he stared with anger at the television again. How dare he lose his only one when she has six she doesn't seem to care about. "I wish..."

"Go ahead. Adopt them as your brothers. See how well you put up with them. You and Iblis were a package deal, one entity at some point. We weren't. It's different from you and your brother's relationship."

"My mind was open that much, was it..?" He asked as he put a hand to the side of his face. "Have you even tried with them?"

Iris thought about it. She didn't like her brothers much, actually. They only pestered her when they were greedy and needed something. Derilious always scowled at her, Synthien always yelled, Gerdarin always took her things and horded them... No she wasn't fond of them.

"They never talked to me just to talk to me. They knew I was important. They knew I would get all the attention. And they gave me such murderous looks for it."

Mephiles stared at her until he spoke softly. "Well they were fools to push away their sister."

Iris shrugged. "Us demons usually care for one thing. Ourselves. It wasn't uncommon for siblings to kill each other out of spite. Although that is prevented in the higher circles."

"Hmm.." Mephiles thought as he remembered Iblis.

_He never did talk much, but we did have an almost inseparable bond. I admit, he got on my nerves at times. But to want to kill him? I have had those thoughts, but would never really do it. After all he was all I had, all I needed._

He snapped out of it as Iris placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Mephy?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just remembering some things..."

Iris sat down on the sofa and patted the cushion next to her. "Come. Sit."

He sat on the edge as Iris rubbed up his back. He may have lost Iblis, but at least he was no longer alone.

_(Sonic arrives at the restaurant to find food all over the floor and slung over tables. Sonic stares in disgust at the stain covered demon in front of him.)_

"More food! Make it quick back there!" The demon yelled as he finished his sea food platter. He happily wiggled his fingers in anticipation as a nervous waiter came out with hot soup.

"Yum soup! Now be gone!" He said as he shoveled the soup spoonful by spoonful into his mouth. He made loud growling noises as he ate. "More. Now!"

"I think you've had enough buddy." Sonic said as the yellow crystal demon threw down his bowl.

"I will never have enough. Get me some more you pig-faced mortal!" He yelled again, shouting out food orders here and there.

"If anybody is a pig in this room, it's certainly not me."

He threw a knife at Sonic's head. Sonic moved out of the way and tapped his foot.

"If I say you serve me you SERVE ME!"

"What's your name?" Sonic asked as he ran up to the demon and slammed his hands onto the table.

"Ferris, if you must know." The demon Ferris said as he played with a fork. "Ferris the Gluttonous."

"Well Ferris... it's time for you to go." Sonic said as he grabbed the demon's wrist.

Ferris snarled and bit Sonic's hand with his sharp teeth.

"I'm still hungry! If I can't have any more food..." He said as he raised up in his chair, clear eyes with hunger. "I'll eat you and the others around this place!"

Sonic wrapped his hand quickly in a table cloth. He drew blood! Who knows what he also infected him with. This guy looks like he never brushes his teeth. Ferris grabbed a cook who was hiding under the counter and swallowed him bit by bit. First he chewed off his legs and then worked down the whole body. Sonic gagged when he heard the bones crunch and swallow sounds. Sonic attacked Ferris with a homing attack to his gut and Ferris fell down. He hit the ground hard and hissed as he got back up.

"You, blue blob of jelly, will all too soon be in my belly!"

He rushed at Sonic, trying to bite him again and his claws swept at the air. Sonic ran behind him and hit him on the head with a frying pan. Ferris rubbed his head and eventually ran away, making the people in the street look at Sonic questioningly. Sonic looked at them and shrugged.

"This guy, along with the other, is trouble. Please let this be it."

Like a cruel, vicious cycle, the same thing happened the very next day. Only this time there would be many deaths as the streets were colored in red.


	12. Chapter 12: Synthien the Wrathful

_Yes, all the brothers will have their own intros :)_

Red was the color for today. The red color of blood that decorated the streets mad Shadow sick. He watched as body parts hung off of the light posts, swaying like props from a horror film. Whoever this demon was, he enjoyed decorating in macabre manners. A large trail of blood led him directly into the center of town. The citizens all crawled into the nearest buildings as Shadow skated by. At the end of the blood trail was a just as red crystal demon. With his oversized machete, he hacked at the anthros before him.

"I hate you all.." He said to himself as his blood soaked hands picked up a corpse and ripped it's head off. "I hate mortals so much."

"Hey you!" Shadow exclaimed as he grabbed the demons shoulder and spun him around.

The demon had dark red almost black eyes and dark red spots on his quills. His bright cherry red fur made him a little too red that it hurt Shadow's eyes. The demon offered a knife to Shadow.

"Do it." He said as he pointed to a skinny fox behind him. "Kill her and gain revenge."

"Revenge? For what?" Shadow asked as he looked into the demon's eyes in distaste. The demon stared back with a smirk.

"Oh? Isn't that your greatest revenge? To kill those who took away Maria?"

Shadow quickly looked away from the demon, but the demon held his stare with a fire in his eyes. "Don't you want to punish those that you have such a hatred for? Kill her and wear her blood as a trophy!"

Shadow now knew why this demon's quills were permanently stained red.

" If you ever need to summon a great anger..." He continued on as Shadow felt his heart pump with adrenaline. "Call upon Synthien the Wrathful. I'll help you for but a small price. Keep this memento to remember you can always make a deal with me."

The demon left as Shadow clutched the knife in his hand. He dropped it to the ground and looked at the mutilated body in silence. Why did he feel this dark pleasure? He shook it off. This had to be the residual effect the demon had on him. At least, he hoped.

Tails watched the sky roll by as he lay on the park's hill. Many children were out blowing bubbles, playing hop scotch, and swinging on the swing set. A few adults looked over to a figure laying on a park bench.

"He's been here for the whole day. The whole time he's either been sleeping or staring into the clouds. And he is so...unusual." One mother whispered to another as they watched the man turn his head to them.

The man shrugged and closed his eyes again, getting a few wide eyed looks as his mouth fell open when he slept. Tails walked past the guy and did a double take.

"Why does everyone keep looking at me?" The grey crystal quilled man said as his eyes swiveled to Tails. "It's very rude."

Tails gave a surprised look. "You're a demon right?"

The grey demon nodded. "I am. You're a mortal, right?"

Tails didn't know if this was sarcasm so he nodded. The demon made him nervous and he wasn't sure what he should do.

"I assure you I don't want to kill anyone." He said as he sighed. "Too much energy for that."

"Oh.." Tails squeaked out. He sounded pathetic and scared, not bothering to hide it.

The demon stared at Tails in silence until he spoke softly to the fox. "Tails.. fitting name."

Tails couldn't help but just stare. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "How...?"

The demon sat up slowly and moved over for Tails to sit next to him. Tails was still suspicious.

"Here sit. You make me tired just looking at you." The demon said as he yawned and exposed his sharp teeth and black tongue.

With the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, he sat down carefully next to him. The demon told him his name.

"Since it's kind of an unfair advantage that I already know you by your aura, I should tell you my name to make it even huh?" He said as he rubbed his claws together, feeling the dirt textures.

Tails took a deep breath. "If you want..to.."

"I'm Xamen the Idle. You can already guess what I'm supposed to represent." Xamen said as he rested his head against the wooden benches' back.

Tails finally stopped being so nervous and felt quite groggy himself.

"Well, hi."

"You're a brave mortal to stay around a demon this long." Xamen said as he watched the kitsune become nervous again. "Relax I'm complementing you."

Tails was confused. He thought all demons cared about was death and torment. So why is this one so lax? As he thought on, Xamen besides him had fallen asleep again. Tails got up off the bench and left the demon alone. That was quite the first personal experience.

Iris knew all of them would be coming. She was preparing for the day that they all rushed at her, wanting to live in her and Mephiles personal space. What little of it there was. The only one who she wasn't so concerned staying with her was one of her younger brothers, Xamen. All he needed was a bed. The others would be more... high maintenance. She sighed in defeat as Mephiles came in from work.

"Thinking about them still?" He asked as he quickly hid a bloody pen. He gave a big smile whenever Iris raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes. Anyways I know they'll find me. It's only a matter of time."

She was right. Although miles below the surface of Mobius, someone else had thought of the same idea. She was antsy. She wanted her collection back.


	13. Chapter 13: Derilious and Gerdarin

Vector and Espio were in their office, about to wrap up for the day. Vector shut down all the computers as Espio meditated on the day's successes and disappointments. Charmy could be heard laughing about something in the back ground. The door to their building opened slowly as a peculiar looking man looked around. The two older boys look at this visitor with an interest in their eyes. The dark teal man then comes entirely into the room. Vector and Espio do a double take. The guy has two canine heads on a beastly looking body. Rainbow flecked, serpentine eyes watch their horrified expressions. The demon moves one of its muzzles to talk.

"Sorry, I must have the wrong place. Uh.. what is here?" He asks as he watches the two mortals slink backwards, reaching for the phone.

Vector clears his throat and is first to talk. "I don't know. What's your name and your purpose?"

The canine demon steps forwards and eyes Espio with a look of jealousy.

"I've always wanted to have interesting weapons. I need to get myself ninja stars."

"What's your name and why are you here?" Vector asks again as Espio shoots him an unsure glance.

"Right. I'm Derilious the Envious. And you are Vector and Espio, correct?"

The two anthros grew pale as the demon sat down in one of their waiting room chairs.

"It's okay. I'm just here to find my sister. I never did thank her properly for releasing me."

"Well, Derilious, we would be happy to find your sister for you. after all it's what we do here." Vector said as he pointed to himself with a grin. "What's her name?"

"Irisatine the Vain. Heard of her?"

Vector inhaled slowly. "Oh. I've heard of her."

Derilious gave him a curious look. "What is the matter crocodile?"

Vector knew he shouldn't work for this guy. After all, if he did he would be under serious scrutiny from the heroes. Espio watched Vector think about his next move. Derilious just made it easier for him. He put a stack of gold on the counter and watched Vector drool from the mouth.

"Wha... where did you get all this money?!" He said as he opened the bag. The gold shone like no other that he had seen.

"I'm one of the six princes of the Flame Core. If you help me find Irisatine, I'll pay you alot more than that."

"Vector do not..." Espio began but was soon cut off from saying the rest of the sentence.

"Of course I'll help you your highness!" Vector exclaimed as he bowed awkwardly. He nudged Espio. "Espio show respect."

Espio bowed as the demon's muzzles went up in smiles.

"You really didn't need to do that. I hear she is quite... infamous around these parts?" Derilious asked as he stared at the computer screen as if he'd never seen one before. "When you do find her, and you will find her, do not tell the mortals searching for her. I'll be very upset if you do." Derilious said in a calm voice as he walked back outside.

Charmy flew downstairs hyper as always and stopped buzzing when he saw the look on his friend's faces. "What happened?"

"Vector got us in trouble is what happened." Espio said as he pinched the bridge of his horn and turned invisible.

"My love of money is gonna get me killed one day." He sighed as he began doing data research on Iris. He wished this dirty business would get done quickly.

_(At one of Mobius' banks for the ridiculously wealthy.)_

"I'm sorry sir, but the account with the name 'Gerdarin the Greedy' could not be found. This is the fifth time I've checked it ." The anthro with the tuxedo said as the pastel green, crystal demon snarled.

"Well I'm entitled to see my money anytime I want to!" Gerdarin shouted as he twirled his emerald stone necklace. "And now I want to roll around in it."

The man behind the counter became tired of the strange man's antics and hit a button under his counter. "Security will show you out."

The guards behind him grabbed him under the arms. Gerdarin quickly used the power of his own two arms to brake the mortals in half. "I want to see my money. I'm not a hostile guy..." He continued onwards as the anthro behind the counter shook in fear. "But **no one** stops me from seeing what I want."

The mortal behind the counter out his hands over his head as he clicked the open the open the vault.

"Much better. Now leave me be!"

With that, Gerdarin had closed the vault door behind him and threw the bags of money everywhere. The paper money of all colors fluttered down as Gerdarin laughed happily, breathing in the scent of wealth that surrounded him. All of these wonderful things was his. Stealing? What's that? This was all his!

He also examined his small emerald crown that he had brought back with him from the castle. He also wondered if his brothers came back. What about his big sister? All these questions. He was snapped out of his day dream when a pink mortal hedgehog hit him over the head with her hammer.

"Damn it." He said as he soon passed out in the cache of money.


	14. Chapter 14: Investigation

Amy dragged Gerdarin by the ankle o the local police station. Sonic looked surprised as she flung open the door and threw the demon on a chair.

"Do I have to do you guys' jobs for you as well?" Amy said as she slung her hammer over her shoulder. The loud thump made Sonic jump. "Don't answer that question. Hi Sonic."

"Umm. hi? Amy where did you find this one?" He asked as the demon before him had dizzy stars flying around his head.

"He was robbing one of Mobius' best banks. Your welcome." She said as she stomped out still flustered.

Sonic shrugged.

"Okay then Ames. See ya.."

The demon looked at Sonic and gave him a confused look. "Were you not pink before?"

"Ah no I've always been blue." Sonic said as the demon was held down with metal straps to the chair. "It's for the safety of others that your restrained."

The demon struggled, but every time he did he got shocked. He hissed and spat curse words as Sonic left the room.

"What about my money?! Just let me know if it's safe please!" The demon shouted as he started to worry about his treasures.

Sonic wondered what the heck he was talking about as he watched the demon panic from the one way glass. What type of prison could hold demons? He wondered if he knew anybody who could imprison them. A few divine beings had been observing from a crystal ball from above. It was almost time for them to intervene, but not quite yet.

_(Back with Vector, Espio, and Charmy._)

Vector started the search for the missing sister bright and early in the morning. The sky was still dark and that meant that the sister would still be up. Derilious had given him an old painted photo with a younger Iris, decorated in the Flame Cores' finest gowns and jewels.

"Don't you have a more recent picture?" Vector said examining the burnt around the edges picture. "Why is it burned? Are things in the Flame Core still flammable?"

Derilious shook his heads. "I don't want to remember that."

Vector looked back at the picture, then rubbed the back of his head.

"Anywhere you might think she may be?"

Derilious thought back to what his sister used to like to do. "Well, she likes crafting things and singing. That's all I know."

"We should try Karaoke Korner and the library then." Espio said as he watching Vector rummage through his bag.

"Oh! She also likes going to hand me down shops to scavenge." Derilious remembered. That was the day before she...

He was pulled from his thoughts as Charmy buzzed by his ear. "Let's go find the princess! Yay it's like my favorite game!"

"This isn't a game Charmy! Quit it!" Vector said as he held Charmy by his shoe to stop the buzzing.

"Didn't you do this last story?" Charmy asked as he slipped his shoe off. He wiggled his toes in Vectors' face.

"Gah! Charmy those stink!" Vector said as he shoved the bee's shoe back on. Charmy giggled.

"Don't act like this in front of a client you two. How will we ever be taken seriously?" Espio said as he apologized to Derilious.

"I don't mind much. If we could continue onwards."

"Of course your majesty. Alright Espio, you and Derilious go to the library, Charmy and I will check out Karaoke Korner, alright?"

"You got it boss!" Charmy said as he gave a small salute and sat on Vector's shoulder.

Espio and Derilious departed and headed for the other direction. They came across the storage facility Iris guarded and continued walking past as Iris sat in the guard both. Her ears perked up.

"What sort of disturbance is this?" She asked as her ears twitched about, picking up a faint voice she almost recognized. The feeling was soon gone. "How strange."

_(To Mephiles!)_

He sat in his well furnished office at the top floor of the Gold Skyscraper. He was about to get his first promotion and another step towards having more power. He typed at his keyboard in silence. The night shifts here were easy and he didn't have much paperwork to process. He sighed as he looked at his full coffee cup.

"Hey Jake! Want more coffee?" A co worker asked as she put on her blazer for break.

"I'm alright thanks." Mephiles replied with a heavy tongue on the work thanks.

The raccoon co worker pulled out a pack of cigars as the elevator dinged. Mephiles poured his coffee down the sink. why did his cup always have the nauseating liquid in it? He looked out into the starry sky and saw his daughter's glow of orange in the distance. He was also curious how Iris was getting along with her job. He looked around the office rooms quickly. He did have fifteen minutes before Jessica came back.

He opened up the window and jumped off the fire escape. He laughed in the night as the darkness seeped out of him.


	15. Chapter 15: Thorne's Return

It was the swamp that no human dared venture into. The villagers had been deprived of the fresh fruit that grew on the trees there out of fear. They whispered among each other the story of a demon who had made the swamp his home these past couple months. The place was devoid of human life, just like he wanted it to be. after all, he had a good reason not to trust the mortals. A group had killed his parents not long ago, just when he had been reunited with them. His name was Thorne and his heart was still craving revenge.

The crocodile like demon swam back to his cave for the day, making sure no soul was around to know where he lived. The only thing you could see in the murky water to know he was there would be his green, crystal scales. The mortal's had called his lair the Mystic Cave, due to its magical and wondrous properties that only enhanced after he moved in. Those people had long since passed. Thorne raised his head out of the water as he swam into the cave entrance, covered by unruly swamp vines that reclaimed the land. The green crystals glowed, welcoming him back from his night's hunt. He gave a light sigh as he got out of the water, standing on two clawed feet again.

"Uneventful to say the least. More and more villages are becoming abandoned." He laughed as he growled. "Exactly what I wanted. Soon the major cities will be forced to leave as well."

Thorne walked to the center of his cave where a pentagram gleamed against the darkness. He had surrounded it with all sorts of anthro and human skulls, trophies that represented his hate against them. But he didn't feel hate towards everything. He found that nature was quite beautiful. Even the 'ugly' parts of it the mortals disliked. Nature didn't hate, it just wanted to co- exist peacefully. He also longed to find other demons and form a pack.

Thorne crawled up in the center of the pentagram and recharged his power as he lay down. Tomorrow he planned to confront the heroes and wanted to hear them beg for mercy. His brambles wrapped around him and protected him as he slept. Of course, no mercy shall be given.

...

Sonic and the gang watched as Gerdarin writhed in the chair for yet another day. Shadow had also managed to capture Xamen over the course of a few hours and some tips to where the other brothers were. Two of the six brothers had been captured and were restrained in the same room. As long as their powers were oppressed by the electrical currents, they would stay under control. From what the princes had said, they had figured all the siblings would have met up at some point. Also, Mephiles would be lurking about as well. They had their work cut out for them.

Winter was awaiting for the arrival of his superiors from above.

October was trying to contact her parents to tell them to turn themselves in, or be harmed in the process.

...

Mephiles made sure he made his way over to Iris' undetected. Using his long term strategy of hiding shadow to shadow, he slinked under a small hole in the chain link fence. He watched as she left the little room to patrol the perimeter. He hid in the small room and waited. Finding nothing, Iris came back to the camera hut but saw something peculiar. The tip of a furry tail poked out of the door. Iris smirked and came in as if she didn't see him. Sitting down slowly in the chair, she clicked the monitors on. Mephiles rubbed his hands together evilly, rose up, and said...

"Boo!" Iris yelled, making Mephiles jump backwards and hit his head on the low ceiling.

"Ow dammit." He growled as he rubbed the back of his head. "How did you know?"

"you're use to your tail being short. Now that it's long and furry you didn't consider it poking out the door." She said as she rubbed his tail tip between her fingers.

"Oh... right." He said, angrily taking his taking his tail from her.

"So what's wrong? Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to see how you were getting along. Plus I was bored and tired of being forced to talk to my idiot co workers all day."

Iris laughed. "They made you talk against your will, huh? Did you also have to smile as well?"

"Yes. It was horrible and I don't want to play nice for much longer." Mephiles replied as Iris kissed his cheek. "What was that for?"

"Cause your adorable." She said as she reclined on his lap.

"Adorable? Surely not I."

"Oh who are you kidding. You love my attention." She said as he blushed violet and growled lowly.

Then a little smile found its way on his face. Iris backed away.

"I know what you're thinking. No Meph.."

She couldn't finish because he had pressed his lips up to hers. Then he wiggled his fingers and started to tickle her roughly.

"Hey! I didn't sign up for this." She said as she laughed as tears came out her eyes. "Stop it!"

Mephiles continued to tickle her until she had to push herself away to breathe.

"That's what you get when you call me adorable. Fear me!" He said jokingly as he pulled her beside him.

"If you want me to fear you, stop being so damn adorable."

"Hey! What did I just say about that?" He asked as he playfully tsked and pinned her down.

"Isn't your co worker supposed to get back from break now?"

Mephiles realized this and sighed. "Oh. Right." Pulling himself off her slowly, he dragged himself back to his office.

Derilious and Vector also had another fruitless night of searching and retired back the detective building. As Derilious lay down on the couch, a bloody and weather beaten woman burst through the doors. One of the mortals had survived the massacre.


	16. Chapter 16: A Disguise Weakened

Beaten and weakened, the woman stumbled over her feet. Her torn clothes were covered in dirt as she coughed out blood and passed out.

"Espio get some pillows, bandages, and clean clothes for me will ya?" Vector asked as Charmy held the woman's hand.

Derilious looked at them in interest. Why waste energy on an unknown stranger?

The demon prince watched as they nursed her back to consciousness. When she started to tell of her ordeals, he kept an ear out for anything that might ring alarm bells.

"It was like, we knew what we were doing, but couldn't control our own selves. As soon as everyone heard of the special crystal that offers protection, we were all willing to help. That got us all killed." She sobbed silently into her hands. "It was like... they weren't our friends anymore. The feeling in the air was sickening and oppressive."

"What did your friends turned attacker look like?" Espio asked.

"Jade was a chipmunk and Jake was a wolf. Also... when they attacked..."

"What?"

"I... **swore** Jade had glowing silver eyes, and Jake had glowing green eyes."

Derilious perked his ears up. "Anything else?"

The woman screamed in terror as she noticed the two headed demon in the room.

"You're one of them aren't you?! I don't know **what** you are but stay away from me!"

Derilious' heads looked at one another. "I didn't attack you."

"No but your one of those monsters, aren't you?!" She said backing into the corner.

"Listen here mortal, I just want to know if you remember anything else about that day. Now you either do, or you don't." One of Derilious' heads said as the woman passed out again. "Great.."

"Charmy, stay here and watch over her until she wakes up. We're going out again and ending this investigation once and for all."

...

Another night had passed and Mephiles and Iris met each other by the apartment door. Mephiles clicked open the lock.

"WHAT THE SHIT?!"

Arrion stopped dead in his tracks. He looked nervously at Mephiles as Iris stared at him in shock.

"Umm... I must have the wrong place." Arrion said as he got up off the couch and was going to jump out of the window.

"No.. Arrion... you found me." Iris said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Arrion swung back inside the apartment and stared at the two. "You've changed. But where is your original body?"

Iris explained the scenario to her brother and he nodded his head slowly.

"Oh well that sucks. Umm.. What about your friend here? Is he also a demon that possessed a mortal?"

"Yes. Mephiles and I have known each other for some years now."

Arrion sat with his back against the couch. "Well shit. I thought you wanted to be alone always? How'd you find him?"

"I planned on being solitary, but things happened. Alot has happened while you and the others were sealed away."

"Aw so I guess one day wedding bells will ring for you two." He said with a smirk on his face. "I just know you two will fall for each other."

"wedding bells have already rung, Arrion." Iris replied back with the same smirk on her face.

Arrion looked surprised. "Wait... you two really are a package deal?! Oh... well you aren't a mother then...?"

Iris stared at him with the same smirk.

He didn't have anything to say.

"Unfortunately." Mephiles chimed in. "The mortal heroes of this time have persuaded them to stay on their side. Only Thorne was looking forward to staying with us. Now we don't know where he is, or if he still wants to be around us."

"Mortal heroes of this time?" Arrion asked with a confused look on his face.

"That's Mephiles' talk for Sonic and Shadow. They always interfere with what we want to do."

"So if you hunt and they catch you..?"

"Yeah. Annoying huh?"

"Everything needs to eat something. Our food just happens to be souls and pain."

"We had also made this world ours months back. We kept it ours for a couple of moths too. Until they woke up and ruined it all." Mephiles said as he closed his fist in anger.

"How did you find us by the way?" Iris asked Arrion as he brushed his quills.

"Hm? Derilious is looking for you in a mortal search party. That chameleon is pretty handsome." He sighed as he started to day dream.

Iris rolled her eyes. "Still as wanting as ever I see."

Arrion sighed again and lay on his back. "I wish I could wrap him up and put him in my pocket."

Mephiles looked at him with a weird look before Iris waved Arrion off.

"He does this from time to time. Hey Arrion, do you think you could pull Derilious aside and talk to him in private? Get him away from the mortals?"

"Yes why? So they don't find out where you live?"

Iris nodded. "Lead him here in secret. The less people that know we live here the better."


	17. Chapter 17: A Disguise Broken

Arrion did just that. But first, Derilious had to get rid of the mortals who already knew too much. Very quietly, the princes knocked Vector out and locked him in the closet. Then they proceeded to do the same with Espio and Charmy. Making sure the mortal's chains were tightly bound, they left to their own devices. More namely, going back to where their sister and her husband lived. Derilious asked the same questions as her brother Arrion and after they were all caught up, started to wonder about the others.

"No one else has come here?" Derilious asked as Arrion cautiously opened the refrigerator.

"No. I have a bad feeling that the heroes have been holding them hostage. I can't even connect with them telepathically." Iris said as she tried focusing all her energy to speak with her brothers. Only silence.

"Just great. Oh wait!" Arrion said as he focused on a faint voice. "I hear something."

_Arrion? Is that you? _Synthien mentally spoke to his brother. He was just wandering around the mortal city until his ears perked up and he felt something strange.

_Yes! It's me. Where the heck are you? Are you far away?_

_I'm in the west part of the city. Why are you contacting me? Something wrong?_

_I found her. Derilious is also here with us. Are you coming?_

Synthien thought about that. They haven't been the best brothers to Iris, but he hoped that in his heart, he had found a way to partly control his anger. For the sake of his siblings, he hoped so too. They were scared of what she might be capable of.

_On my way. Want me to bring Ferris as well? He's gorging himself in the cafe across the street. Again. We met up about a few hours ago._

"What about Ferris?" Arrion asked with a distasteful look on his face.

Their faces all reflected his.

"Whatever." Derilious growled out. "He just better not make life miserable for the rest of us who will be staying here as well."

"How long are you all planning on staying? Why are you staying?" Iris asked. Why are they assuming they could stay with Mephiles and her? There's no room for six more demons!

"I figured we could." Derilious answered back coldly and got a look back from Iris doing so. "Where else are we supposed to stay?"

"Never **any** privacy." Iris said as she put her hands to her hips. "Fine. You can stay. For now."

"We don't have another bedroom though so you'll have to sleep in the living room." Mephiles answered, watching the two brothers suspiciously.

"We can't sleep in your bedroom? Surely you have floor space.."

"NO!" Mephiles growled out and surprised Arrion. "That is OUR space. I don't wish to share any personal space with another stranger again."

"But you'll share with Iris? You could have just told me you two want some alone time." Arrion said in irritation as he sat back down on the couch.

Mephiles didn't say anything but he did glare at the pink demon. He was sick of them already.

A few brief minutes later, a heavy knock was heard on the apartment window. Arrion let out a loud hey as Synthien came through the window, dragging in Ferris by his neck. Ferris was mindlessly eating a salted pretzel.

"A reunion almost complete." He said as he threw Ferris on the ground. Ferris snarled as he ran to the corner, holding his pretzel protectively. "We are missing a couple."

"Xamen and Gerdarin are all that's left. Were you out killing?" Derilious' heads asked as Synthien cleaned his machete.

"Yeah. I was. The sight of them made me mad."

"Everything makes you mad." Arrion said as he shook his head.

The brothers talked, argued, and laughed as Iris and Mephiles kept their distance.

...

Thorne had finally made his way to the city. He had forced a villager to drive him there and soon disposed of him afterwards. Thorne didn't care. We walked right into the city, his brambles and vines twisting around him. The poor people thought to themselves, hadn't they had enough? Thorne called out in a volatile voice.

"Sonic! Shadow! Face me and seek your fates! Or watch as I rip these mortals to shreds!" He exclaimed, wrapping the vines around the people's necks. His sclera slowly became a navy blue as he tightened his grip on the hostages.

Since the police station was nearby, Sonic and Shadow heard the angry screaming. Police sirens furthered their concerns. They found Thorne standing in the center square with a hateful look in his eyes. Thorne looked at the two mortals and let out a long laugh.

"It's time you pay for what you have taken away from me! You... the saviors... that have destroyed my parents!" Thorne yelled angrily as he flung the half strangled mortals to the ground.

Sonic and Shadow put up a fighting stance. Thorne charged the two and threw some sort of green gas. Shadow dodged it quickly as Sonic grabbed Thorne's tail. Thorne proceeded to do a death roll and shook him off. Shadow did a few chaos blasts, but since Thorne was crystal, they were reflected onto the ground. The yellow bolts sizzled as they dissolved into the soil. Sonic felt uneasy around Thorne. Just like his parents, this unsettling aura was what caught him off guard. Thorne's scales leaked a toxic substance that made Sonics' skin burn like crazy. Shadow blasted through the brambles and tripped him up.

Just when Shadow was about to break Thorne's leg, a monstrous creature swooped down from the sky and attacked Shadows' face. Soon, a whole flock of the creatures circled above them. Mephiles' shadow beasts came rushing to the spot as well.

The dark duo was drawing near.

Final conflict would soon ensue.


	18. Into the Fray, Out of the Fires

_Action sequences for the win._

Shadow tore the creature in half and looked at it on the pavement. The other creatures circled faster and faster above Sonic and Shadow, every now and again trying to strike at them. The dark shadow beasts formed a growling circle around the two mortals, every now and again snapping at their heels. They knew what was coming for them and they were a bit concerned. After all if the brothers did help Iris and Mephiles, it would be eight to two. Not great odds. Thorne watched as four figures came out into the open. Two of which were obviously demons, but why did they have two mortals with them?

Sonic and Shadow did a double take as Synthien and Derilious charged at them. Just getting out of the way in time to cast a glance at the mortals across the street. The two mortals gave a smirk under their shaded faces. Shadow gasped as Derilious grabbed his neck and was bitten repeatedly by the demon's two heads. Sonic was playing jump rope with Synthien's machete, which when he swung around blood flew off of it. Sonic and Shadow did several charged homing attacks on the back of the demon's heads, making them confused and bump into one another. Derilious cursed as Synthien's sharp blade scraped his side.

Then Synthiens' machete separated at the handle and became two metal swords with a blood-like aura around it. He swirled around the two in dizzying circles, swinging the blades of death with him. Now the droplets of blood were held in mid air, suspended by some unknown force. The rain of blood pelted the two, sending a wave of nausea through their bodies. Sonic got cut on his leg before Shadow used chaos control to stop time and take Synthiens' blades away from him. Derilious took over from there and grew in size, gaining two more heads as a result. His crystals became dimmer as his eyes glowed with primal energy. He grabbed up Sonic and Shadow, shaking them violently in his massive jaws. He tossed them against a brick wall with force, like a disposed of chew toy. Shadow wobbled as he got up. He clicked his inhibitor rings off...

What was this? He was shaking uncontrollably and a familiar feeling of sickness crept over him. The small crack in his back became wide open as other small cracks branched off of it. Iris was doing this again. Sonic used the one chaos emerald he had to gain energy and knocked Derilious square in the chest. The massive demon shuddered as he fell over and shrank back to normal size. Thorne yelled in a multi-tone demon voice, and thorns on his back appeared. A moss-like design decorated the area around his eyes.

"Time to finish this. Time to finish you two." He said as he brought up his claws for the final attack.

The chaos emerald glowed with positive and negative energy, undecided with which one to pick and enhance. It dimmed and turned dark, then became yellow again, and repeated the same pattern.

"Chaos emerald..?" Sonic questioned as soon as it turned yellow again.

Thorne was expelled by a huge force of energy that made a huge dust cloud when he hit it. Thorne was cast aside into debris. Dusting the pebbles off of himself, he stood up to be knocked back down again. A massive earthquake shook Mobius, just as Arrion and ferris came back from their rescue mission with Gerdarin and Xamen. A large, vortex of a portal was ablaze brightly with the fires of Hell creeping through. Lava lizard creatures flew out of the portal and away from the area.

_This evil, insane presence... surely not...No possible way. _The demons of sin spoke to one another telepathically. Sure enough, it was the impossible.

There was their mother, in all her hellish glory.

She reared her head towards the sky and let out a booming growl. Her large eye slowly rotated towards her offspring. She spoke in an ancient language, a triumphant tone certainly.

_"Free from the fires at last! Free to absorb all of your powers!"_


	19. The Fight For Dominance

(All That Remains - Won't Go Quietly)

The ground kept trembling as the portal closed. Their mother pulled herself out of the pit and slammed her clawed paws on the ground. Screams from any nearby people filled the air. Sonic and Shadow stood there in disbelief as the massive queen knocked down the nearby buildings. The demons and the mortals stood alongside each other, looking at one another.

"I guess we just have to side together on this one." Sonic said as the demons hesitantly nodded their heads.

Shadow attacked first with no signal for the others to follow. Sonic decided to spin dash into the mother's head, making little impact on her stone skull. The queen laughed in amusement as she brushed off Shadow and Sonic. Ferris attacked next, throwing up acidic vomit onto her leg. Shaking it off, she smacked her son into the ground where his leg lay besides him. Shadow threw Synthien his blades back as a whirlwind of blood gathered around him. Synthien then created several different tornados of blood that spun around his mother. While she was confused, he rushed in and let loose.

when the tornados dispersed, she had a few small cuts across her body. The queen used her huge jaws to pick up her two sons and swallow them whole. The remaining demons were trying to find any weak spots in her defense. While thinking about it, Xamen who was trying to make his mother sluggish, was eaten as well. She used her double pair of wings to blow the others away. Her tail smashed another nearby skyscraper.

"Is she eating her sons?" Sonic asked as he wrapped a bandage around a quill.

"She's absorbing their powers! Look at her chest!" Shadow said as bright colorful orbs could been seen through her thick stone hide.

Derilious, Arrion, and Gerdarin were using combined moves to knock their mother into buildings. Like before, she swallowed Arrion, but Derilious clung onto her throat. He slashed and bit, but he lost his grip and fell into a rubble pile. Nandraina used her paws and tail to stomp him into the ground. She laughed as Gerdarin punched in futile attempts. Swallowing up the remainder of her sons, she turned her head to look at the rest. Shadow, surrounded by extremely powerful yellow energy, hit her square in the eye.

Her eyelid closed as she screamed into the sky. Shadow hit her several more times until she came down with a crash. Dust settled and Shadow gave a smile.

"Far too easy for the ultimate."

As he walked away, a burst of building pieces slung him into an untouched building. caught off guard, he scraped his knees due to his rocky landing and tumbled backwards. The queen looked at him n hatred.

"A mortal doesn't contain the power to kill me. Idiots. All of you will die!"

With that, she turned her attention away from the heroes and focused it on the remaining two demons in the playing field.

Mephiles attacked first, using whatever powers he had available to him. His puddle of darkness that he summoned made her sink into the ground slightly. His beasts attacked and caught her attention as he used several dark chaos lances to pierce through her stone body. She screamed in agony as she tried to tear away. Mephiles smirked but frowned again once she had broken out of his attack. The queen exhaled a shroud of smoke which encompassed Mephiles. He couldn't see due to his mortal eyes and was struck from behind, gasping for air.

Iris growled. How was she supposed to take down her monster of a mother without her strong demon body? Mephiles was hurt. She thought up of something quick. Closing her eyes, she mustered all her energy and opened a swirling vortex which her mother was pulled into. Before she jumped inside, a strange gray rock was in her hand. She jumped in after her, clutching the rock to her side.

"You don't have the physical strength to take me down, daughter. Why are you fighting me at all?"

"Who says I need physical strength?" Iris replied, to which her mother was floating in the starry universe she had been transported too. "My mind is what gives me my powers."

concentrating on her fight, a blockade appeared as soon as she saw her mother lunge for her. The rock had stuck itself on her mother's horns and her mother tried to pry it off. Iris then imagined a huge maze of mirrors. Her mother, confused by this new realm, tried to fly above the maze. To her surprise, an invisible barrier of sorts stopped her from flying higher.

"NO! What is..?"

The mirrors then shattered into a million different broken pieces. They circled around Iris like a shield. She sent out the first wave of shards, which her mother dodged. The second wave had sharper edges with poisoned tips. That made her mother stumble backwards. The third wave not only had poisoned tips, was were surrounded by Iris' aura as well. They came back a second time and put a substantial gash into her chest.

As Iris was just about to hit her mother in the chest, the stone gave off a powerful aura. Not only did Iris' inner primal demon show, but another demonic shadow besides her. Nandraina stared in wonder as the two generations of queens would bring her to an end.

"Vaefora...?"

With that name, Iris burrowed into her chest and drilled right through her. Waves of blue blood gushed out of her massive body as the six colored orbs flew away from the scene. The massive queen shuddered and fell back through the portal into the real world. The huge demoness lay forever silent in a swimming pool of her blood.


	20. Impromptu Coronation

(Silent Hill 4 - Room of Angel)

Iris came through the portal a minute after. The mirror shards that were around her before disappeared as they no longer existed in the real world. The starry vortex closed itself up and glimmered into air. Iris landed on the cold stone body of her mother, looking her straight in her dead glass eyes. She let out a long sigh of relief. The last part of her vengeance was complete. unexpected and unplanned yes, but this is exactly what she had needed. Sonic, Shadow, and Mephiles watched the scene before them.

Iris used one of her mother's claws to rip up her stomach. Her brother's bodies came tumbling out as she lay them in a row. Their souls found their respective bodies and rose off the ground.

In the background the princes could be heard.

"Well that sucked." Arrion said as he helped Ferris reconnect his leg to his body.

"Yes but now we worry no more. We will no longer be hunted down as prizes." Derilious said as the brothers collected themselves.

Iris looked at the scenes that were playing in her head. Like a grainy old movie, the pictures rolled by. All the balls she had attended, the garden with the balcony overhanging from her room, the sulfuric smell during carriage races. The whole lot of her memories, good and bad, she decided to lock away. Now it was time to remake her life as it should have been. This time, she was the queen.

The demonic powers came off of her mother in a pillar. Shooting towards the sky, the clouds grew red as the essence of the Flame Core itself took over. Kneeling besides her mother's body, she placed her hand just above the area where the power pillared from. What would happen if she did absorb it? She needed to before someone else tried to take it. The power pulled downwards from the sky, turning it blue again. The wisp like substance wrapped itself around her arms as she took it all in.

Winter and a couple orbs of bright light appeared. One of the lights threw a new and improved Scepter of Darkness down on the ground before Mephiles. Mephiles tried to push it away from himself just as one of the light orbs threw something that pierced into his body. He grunted in pain and fell over, his black soul being pulled into the scepter. As he was being imprisoned, he noticed what had went through him.

_An ethereal blade..?What is...?_

The strange light being then put a seal on the scepter as extra protection. It waited for the other.

Iris had absorbed most of the power by now and was fighting her own mental demons when a light shot into her. The bright light that filled her eyes was too much and she was pulled away from the corpse by the same light. The being then did the same as the other. It speared her through with a thin, almost air like blade. Iris, who had snapped back, glared at the burning light. She could see a slight form materialize, and quickly shut her eyes.

"Not you again. Last time wasn't enough for you? Forcing me to form a crystal over myself, just so I could be protected from this damn blade?!"

The being spoke in a soft voice.

"We weren't going to kill you."

"Yeah. But you were going to keep me as a prisoner for the rest of existence. So you could protect the filth of the world." Iris spat out as the being held her music box. "Put that back!"

"It is what is needed. I will seal you within and no harm will befall upon you. It is what is needed to save what's left of the world from demons like you. To rid this world of the poisonous evils you create." The being replied as it siphoned her soul off the blade into the music box.

When she was sealed away, the entity wrapped the box's lid closed with enchanted chains. A heart shaped padlock kept the whole thing locked up tight. The music box and scepter shook violently in the beings' arms. The demonic whispers that came from them were ignored. Winter looked at them in disbelief.

"what did you do to my parents?!"

The beings looked at one another and handed him the music box and scepter.

"You can carry them to Zone Jail. They have become way too powerful and dangerous to keep around on Mobius anymore. They are both considered threats to other parallel universes as well. It's good for the sake of humanity they go there ." The smaller light being said as Winter looked at the objects in his hands.

The bigger light being spoke afterwards, laying a hand on Winter's shoulder. "They have special containment chambers to put them in, too. You may not know this, but your father Mephiles has already messed with several timelines. (Sonic '06) He has also been a prisoner there before. (Archie Comics) Your mother... well we aren't sure if is she can access different timelines and dimensions. Since they are together though, Mephiles could have easily transported them around if he so wished. Thank goodness he didn't."

Winter held the objects that contained his parents tightly. Why did it have to be like this? He sighed. "That's fine."

What they didn't know about Iris gave her the upper hand. As long as she could escape to the Dream Dimension, she would have infinite power from its core. The Nexus.

What they didn't know **would **hurt them. All of them.


End file.
